Pro Wrestling NOAH Announce N1 Tournament Blocks

As Japan’s tournament season moves into high gear, Pro Wrestling NOAH has revealed the blocks for their annual N1 Victory Tournament.

The competition will play out over eight dates across September and October and will feature twelve competitors, split over two blocks. The winners of each respective block will face each other in the finals on October 11 in Osaka.

Following then GHC Heavyweight Champion Kaito Kiyomiya’s decision not enter last year’s tournament, current champion Go Shiozaki has opted to enter the N1, thereby painting a target on his own back.

Shiozaki finds himself in the opposite bracket to friend-turned-foe Katsuhiko Nakajima, as well as Nakajima’s new KONGOH stablemate and current GHC National Champion KENOH. The KONGOH stable is well represented across the blocks, with 5 members entering this year’s tournament.

Also of note is the participation of returning Dragon Gate alumnus Masaaki Mochizuki, as well as Mixed Martial Arts legend Kazushi Sakuraba.

Full blocks below:

Block A: Go Shiozaki, Kaito Kiyomiya, Kazushi Sakuraba, Manabu Soya, Masaaki Mochizuki and Masa Kitamiya

Block B: Katsuhiko Nakajima, KENOH, Naomichi Marufuji, Shuhei Tanaguchi, Takashi Sugiura and Yoshiki Inamura

Coverage of the N1 Victory Tournament will be split over streaming service Wrestle Universe (which hosts Pro Wrestling NOAH, DDT, Tokyo Joshi Pro and others) and Japanese station Abema TV.